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Should kids get pocket money for chores?

What’s your view on kids helping around the house and receiving pocket money for chores – are you for or against?

I remember growing up being expected to help on a regular basis – from drying pots and pans from washing up to tidying my bedroom.

I wasn’t given any pocket money for it and, to be honest, I didn’t expect any. When my own kids were younger I tried a rota system, offering 2 pence for small chores like tidying away their plate when they had finished eating or putting away their shoes after they had come into the house.

It proved to be a lot of hard work having to watch them like a hawk and break up squabbles over who had done what, so the rota system didn’t last very long.

But the whole process got me thinking – why should kids be paid to help out around the house? Perhaps they should just…well, help out.

This is easier said than done; I should know – my son requires a lot of bribery to get him to do anything without moaning about it, but if we start the kids young, they’ll know no different surely?

It’s a bit too late for my own kids; I do get them to help out on a weekly basis – mostly by tidying their bedrooms, fetching things and occasionally a spot of cleaning.

Sometimes they even offer to because they want to, but mostly because there’s an underlying reason, which usually has something to do with time on the Playstation or being allowed to make slime in the kitchen.

From toddler to tween

As my tweens turn into teens I was interested to find out what other parents thought of chores for pocket money, so I decided to do a bit of detective work.

It turns out that nine in ten teens help around the house but almost half are paid to help.

A recent study from School Stickers found that the most common chores for teens are tidying their bedroom (75%), cleaning the dishes (61%), vacuuming (50%), helping to cook meals (46%) and putting the bins out (44%).

By far the most popular way of paying for chores is per chore with almost two thirds (65%) being paid in this way. Over a quarter (27%) are given treats for doing jobs around the house, and one in ten (9%) are paid to do a list of jobs each week.

The best paid chores are babysitting, paying on average £2.67 per half hour and cleaning the car, paying on average £2.73 per car. All other chores pay on average between £1.22 and £2.21.

Top ten chores done by teenagers

Chore

Average price per chore

1

Tidying Bedroom

£1.87

2

Cleaning Dishes

£1.55

3

Vacuuming

£1.60

4

Helping to cook meals

£1.98

5

Putting bins out

£1.22

6

Hanging washing out

£1.37

7

Dusting

£1.66

8

Ironing

£1.52

9

Clean bathroom

£1.92

10

Babysitting

£2.67 (half hour)

This is all very well, but what if you’re skint and you need incentive tactics to work? Well, I’ve had to be inventive a few times

Try some of these non-monetary rewards instead:

For small chores that kids do without being asked (clearing their plate away, putting away their shoes etc) reward them with a sticker. Once they get so many stickers, they get to choose a half-day activity for the weekend.

The movie of their choice for the family to sit and watch.

Two hours of your time to dedicate to an activity of their choosing – cooking, face-painting, ball games, crafting etc…

A trip to the park

Play a family game – hide and seek, tag etc..

You will tidy their room for a change (unless the chore is tidying their room!)

Build them a den (using bed sheets!) or put up the tent for them to play inside in the garden.

Make a film together – and make them the starring role!

Let them stay up an hour past their bedtime.

The above list does of course come with a pre-warning: once you implement the rewards, it’s not uncommon for kids to ask if they can help you out more regularly. Now that’s not such a bad thing is it? You’re welcome.

Working with children, I see so many that get quite a lot of pocket money and do nothing to help out at home, and they tend to just spend their money without caring where it’s come from. I think it’s a good idea to get children used to the idea that they don’t get something for nothing in life and they have to work if they want money.
That being said, I do think they should be responsible for their own area and any mess they create anyway because it teaches them personal responsibility.

ordinary tasks like clearing up their stuff, doing their room etc is part of their role in our family as far as I am concerned and should not involve payment. mine get money if the chore is bigger- cleaning the car inside and out or hoovering right through the house and dusting. My children are older, so it is not such a mighty task. but the need for money to go out with their friends is becoming an issue and I don’t provide funds for nothing, so they have to work for it. I think money means more when it is earned.

I agree with this totally. I feel differentiating between what is expected of a family unit and what is maybe going beyond could be the difference between a treat or money.
For example, making a bed is a normal thing to do so maybe a treat for cleaning up after themselves (like cinema once a month as a family) or,
Washing the family car may not be and gets a monetary reward.
The second point I feel is getting a sense of value. Not so much the earning part but how much things cost. Buying a book or a game for a game system. The realization that just about everything is expensive.

Great points Alan – and thanks for your views. The sense of value is really important with kids these days I think. I often tell mine not to throw items around otherwise they’ll break – but because they don’t have to pay for replacements, they don’t learn their lesson. HOwever, after my daughter left the 3rd set of brushes out – only for the rabbits to chew on – she had to buy the next set.

Whilst I think it’s a good idea now and again, it’s not something I’d do all the time. I think it’s good for kids to get rewarded in different ways. However, it does teach them that in order to get money then you have to work for it.

I think a lot of parents go down this route, but it’s not something that I do myself. I tend to reward the kids for chores with non-monetary goods and then when they go over and above what they are expected to do i.e beyond the daily chores of putting their plates away and tidying their rooms, then I’ll look to pay them. It’s all swings and roundabouts isn’t it?

I actually never received pocket money for doing any chores when I was a kid but I think this was to teach me that we should help out family completely selflessly without reward at the end. However, then again rewarding kids with money or something else after completing a task teaches them about the working world.

My children don’t get pocket money at all, the youngest three are too young and my eldest at 13 knows that he’s better off just having money as and when he needs it (within reason) rather than a set amount!

We give our two weekly pocket money but expect that they do basic stuff like keep their rooms tidy. They rarely do of course so a rethink is in order. Have to say I thought what was being paid to the kids was pretty low for some of those chores. Better hope they don’t learn about the minimum wage…

I used to get a £1 a week pocket money as long as I kept my room tidy, (which included hoovering, dusting, making my bed and putting my clothes away) as well as washing up the dishes every night. For me I would have kept my room clean anyway but it was nice to get a reward. I think I would do pocket money for my daughter as it installs values and being able to buy nice things mean working for it.

Thanks Kirsty – we have paid pocket money for chores, but tend to only give monetary rewards when the kids go over and above what they are expected to do – at 12 and 10 they are old enough now I think.

I’m not quite sure about money, because they are only kids, I think it depends on their age really. 16+ for money, then sure. Otherwise a little treat here and there to show positive rewards. Then again, I am only 19 so many still consider me a kid, I get £20 pocket money a month but I have to clean my own room, tidy up after the cats, wash up and all of that stuff. I think it’s a good compromise. D

I’m not quite sure about money, because they are only kids, I think it depends on their age really. 16+ for money, then sure. Otherwise a little treat here and there to show positive rewards. Then again, I am only 19 so many still consider me a kid, I get £20 pocket money a month but I have to clean my own room, tidy up after the cats, wash up and all of that stuff. I think it’s a good compromise.

Yes, age certainly has something to do with it – and ‘working’ should mean people are paid, but I think chores are different –
they are something that need to be done as part of daily life and children shouldn’t expect to be paid for that. Thanks for your thoughts Bethany!

This is a really interesting post, and I love the non-monetary based reward ideas! I do reward my little ones with pocket money, and we do have a chart – but it’s called our Kindness Chart. They get ticks for being kind to others, to nature, to each other (as well as being kind to me by helping out with chores!) so it’s not just chore based at all.

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Hi and a huge welcome! I'm Lauretta and I share thrifty tips and deals on interiors and travel. It's about cutting costs but not corners! Occasionally I chat about family & gadgets - because I love them both.
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